OCD, Triggers, and Social Media ( ⌯'-'⌯)

Hi everyone. ⸜(๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝* I am writing this sort of as a way to engage with myself and my OCD a bit more healthily, as I'm trying to not do compulsions and instead things I value, which includes being an active community member here on the NOCD app. ❀ I know that it's relatively common for folks to point out that social media is not the best tool in general, but especially for people like us with OCD and other mental health disorders. I knew this, but I am guilty of using social media a lot to dull my brain a little when I'm bored or have nothing else to do. This, however, sets me up for failure (or success, depending on how you view things). I went on Twitter (I know—literally the worst app to be on, I use it to look at fanart usually) to catch up on some Marvel Rivals drama that I saw on Instagram. Boom, one of the suggested posts was something that is pretty triggering for me both OCD and not OCD-wise. (›´-`‹ ) Admittedly, I've been wanting to stop using Twitter because I hate the guy that owns it and the app overall is... gross and not somewhere I want to be. So, I'm taking this as my sign to get rid of the app and not use it anymore. (‾^‾)ง⁼³₌₃ Social media impacts a lot of aspects of life, but I already don't use a lot of the more popular social media—not using Twitter isn't exactly a big loss (especially because I barely use it anyways, and I've been triggered more on Twitter than anywhere else in my entire time having OCD). I think I'll just stick to Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I can get my silly video game drama updates from Youtube, Instagram, or just by googling it. Plus, as I'm getting older (I turn 27 this year—I'll have had OCD for 6 years this year!) I'm realizing that I want to move away from being so... internet obsessed? I spent so much of my life online that I want to start to live in the real world more, for better and for worse. Especially with plans to move in with my fiancé this year, plus transferring from my community college to a university, I want to make memories that aren't in front of a computer screen. I want to be present in my real life, not so much in my digital one anymore. (ฅ'ω'ฅ)♪ I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way or can relate, but I'd love to know if you do! Do you guys also find social media to be triggering? How do you go about handling being triggered when you see something online that upsets you or stirs up your OCD? I'd really like to know what you all do in moments where you're struggling because of content online. ⸜(๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

[Deleted]

Date posted: 4d

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cyrene

Date posted: 4d

@lemonmuffin Thank you for the reply! Also, I like your Emu profile picture! She's my favorite PJSK character. ⸜(๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

lemonmuffin

Date posted: 4d

@cyrene You’re welcome of course, we should support each other while struggling with this, and thank youuu, i see you love anime as well, i love ur picture replies also, brings positive energy 😍

bumblyb33

Date posted: 4d

twitter is the absolute worst app for my ocd because my feed is literally just people getting in moral debates and nothing else -_- every time i go to open it im like i should really stop going on here because it only makes me unhappy but the ocd tells me i need to read all the stuff and its just so hard to stop ;-;

Clara_and_ellie

Date posted: 4d

Social media is my number one trigger,so yes i relate ❗️❗️ I try to stick to contents that doesn't have much triggers like makeup or food content (edits from fav shows too)

Anonymous

Date posted: 3d

I'm really enjoying your style of posting! I'm in my 30s and started treatment in December. When I see political titles being suggested, (I hate reading it and how click bait it can be), I just remember that it's stuff in progress. I make it very narrow sighted if possible as in if it's not something I can action, I'm not interested. If it's information I'm not finding useful or can benefit my goals of having peace, I try to move on. Sitting in uncertainty is our plight for OCD and yes, it's uncomfortable. But I feel more self motivated that the kind of person I want to be, is stronger in tempering my anxiety/compulsions. I can be in control of my reactions if I can identify it. When I cant help but want to know, I just do a general Google or ask chatgpt (I know, bad) to give me spark notes of the gist. I don't need to know everything unless I'm trying to use that information. Not sure if this kind of helps but so far, I feel like I'm handling it ok. I just want to be more in control of being mindful how much energy I'm putting into something that might not be important in the now.

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